The young maquisard flushed so thoroughly, the lipstick on his skin all but disappeared.
But Nicole did not appear to notice as she turned her attention to the wrapped bricks of explosives. “Come, Elaine, let’s divide these between us to carry back.”
They made quick work of the stack, so both of their baskets were weighty with their bounty and concealed beneath the rutabagas and bread.
Nicole nodded to Elaine as they stood once more. “This is Pierre’s wife.”
The boy’s eyes widened from under the overgrown shag of his dark hair. “It’s a true honor to meet you. Pierre is a most impressive soldier.”
Elaine smiled her thanks, unsure what to say to such a claim.
Joseph an impressive soldier?
The boy backed away, his awed stare still fixed on Elaine before he disappeared into the woods as mysteriously as he’d arrived.
“Pierre also trained the Maquis.” Nicole hooked the basket over her arm and picked at her thumbnail where the red varnish had chipped at the edge. “Apparently his aim is perfect, and he knows the best ways to set up explosives.”
Elaine said nothing as she tried to wrap her mind around Joseph in the wilds sans his ever-present tweed jacket as he taught men how to fight. The more she learned about the hidden parts of her husband, the greater she longed to see him, to ask questions and hear him share what amazing feats he accomplished with the Resistance.
“Here.” Nicole broke the bit of chocolate into two pieces and handed one to Elaine.
In the prewar years, such a morsel would scarcely constitute a bite. But now, it was a veritable sugar feast. Elaine popped the confection into her mouth, letting it rest on her tongue and luxuriously melt, sighing aloud with delight at the rare and unexpected treat.
The two women walked in silence for a spell, chocolate sticky in their mouths, sunlight dappling their path, and their baskets laden with food and explosives.
Elaine swallowed the last remnants of the gift as she considered everything she’d been told about her husband. “How have you found out so much about Pierre?”
Nicole lifted a shoulder in a delicate shrug and stepped around a patch of thick, wet mud. “I asked, as I said I would.”
“Is there anything else you’ve discovered that you haven’t told me?”
The other woman pressed her lips together and shook her head. An action done with too much haste.
“What is it?” Elaine asked tightly.
“Nothing.” Nicole quickened her steps, as if she could be spared from saying more if she was fast enough.
A shadow fell over them as the sun was blotted out by thick, dark clouds. “Please, Nicole. If someone knew of your brother or father, wouldn’t you want to know?”
Nicole slowed somewhat, but kept her focus directed on the unseen trail she followed. “Your husband was arrested by Kommandeur Werner,” she said after a long pause.
Elaine stopped walking. She may not know as much as the other Resistants, but she knew the name. All the men under Hauptsturmführer Klaus Barbie were cruel, but Werner was exceptionally so, one who relished in the brutalization of his captives. Stories of his torment had reached even her ears and plucked at the darkest nightmares of her imagination.
If Joseph had indeed been taken by Werner, he would doubtless have been treated without mercy all this time. The chocolate in Elaine’s stomach was suddenly too rich.
As pleasant as the break from the city had been, she wanted to be back in Lyon to meet with Etienne. No longer was Joseph’s rescue to simply get him free of Montluc and back in her arms, but to spare his life.
The tram seemed to travel slower back to the heart of Lyon than it had out to the outskirts.